If you want to get ahead, get a hairdo

"Borgen's fictional female prime minister sports a chignon that seems to get bigger with every looming political crisis. That's how powerful she is." Photo: BBC/DR/Mike Kolloffel

Look at any catwalk show lately, go to any wedding, bar mitzvah or red carpet do, and women are sporting staggeringly large hairdos - hairdos which simply wouldn't be feasible without several cans of Elnett. The Sixties, by way of Marie Antoinette, are back big time.

The First Lady's new fringe looked, initially, like a call to arms for work hair. But as anyone with fine, wispy, kinky, frizzy or curly hair will testify, fringes of this luxuriousness are punishingly high-maintenance. Katrine, the fictional journalist in
Borgen
, that Danish drama noted for its verisimilitude, grew her fringe out after four episodes of the second series. That's how real she is. Meanwhile,
Borgen
's fictional female prime minister sports a chignon that seems to get bigger with every looming political crisis. That's how powerful she is.

Perhaps real hairdos are just too dull to deserve the modern coiffeur's attentions. Low-maintenance yet glamorous yet realistic yet flattering yet neat options - that work at work - are thin on the ground. So what's the solution? "I always stress that hair should always be clean and off the face," says Carol Doughty, a personal image and branding coach. "My big mantra at work is, 'attract, don't distract'."

The pixie style that Anne Hathaway is wearing at the moment is, thinks Doughty, fabulous for work. "But if you don't like short hair just invest in a great cut that works for your face shape. Colour maintenance is vital as that is often the key to a healthy, shiny look, which all adds to a vibrant image."

"It is," says Averyl Oates, the chic fashion director of luxup.com and owner of chic length layers, "all about the cut. It defines how your hair is going to look when you're running out from the gym, late for that important meeting. Get a cut that works with your hair - don't fight against it otherwise you end up with your hair controlling you."

The model Karlie Kloss recently got herself a chin-length bob with a fullish fringe. Could this be a template for the rest of us?

Luke Hersheson, who as well as creating hold-the-front-page looks for models and actresses styles the hair of scores of working women, is sceptical about The Kloss. "That's a cut that needs a beautiful woman and a lot of styling. Fine hair requires something shaped into the neck that gives a bit of height on the crown. It probably shouldn't be all one length, unless you have thick, straight hair, and it should be able to support the weight of your hair. Once you've achieved that, all you need is to tong it or blow dry it to give it texture and variety. A half fringe is more flattering for most women than a heavy full one."

Sarah Curran, the stylish founder of my-wardrobe.com, concurs about the layers. "After many high-maintenance haircuts over the years, I find a choppy shoulder-length cut to be the easiest and most versatile," she says. "It can look chic without being overly coiffured, and I either blow dry it straight or create loose, tousled curls."

According to Hersheson, one look that's increasingly popular with business women is Arizona Muse's tousled, uncontrived bob. "But really, there's no longer a single dominating hairstyle, which is good. We're seeing a lot of shorter, neater versions of Stevie Nicks's old wavy do, and that can be surprisingly easy to look after. The best thing you can do for your hair is get a proper haircut and maintain it with regular trims. Length isn't the issue: shape is."

You'd expect him to say that. But he's right. The right cut and a few trusty products are worth any amount of new clothes. Oates swears by Charles Worthington's Instant Amplifying Volume Treatment instead of conditioner: "Brilliant for va-va-voom. And Fudge Textures Creative Styling Dust, which you throw into roots, gives instant lift and soaks up any oil. I can't live without it when I'm travelling."